It was so nice having a year where I did not have to worry about going to Alaska to work the summer season. I was a man at leisure which is usually has a direct correlation to a happy man. of course my money situation this entire year has been in the shitter and I am very happy to be digging myself out of that hole....but it is very nice not to have to work in a restaurant for a couple of years lol. As you can probably tell, my season of diving here in thailand is almost over and its soon off to the winter wonderland of alaska to make some serious cheese to support myself in a higher lifestyle then this past year. I have to admit that I am worried about the effects this will have omy relationship with IM. I have gone off to alaska twice with a girlfriend waiting for me back in Thailand and both of those times it had a disasterous outcome. it would be a serious bummer if it all fell apart due to my absence. My options are very limited and its not like i can just NOT go to alaska. The funny thing is, if i were single my options would be much more wide open and I could travel much more freely but then the question begs, what am I doing all of this for if I dont have anyone to share my life with. I suppose there is always pattaya and the thousands of girls working there, just waiting for my return but lets face it, that is not quite the same thing now is it? I'm not even going to start bending your ear on how I'm going to miss my dog......dont even want to think about it right now. MI MI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a friend from alaska hanging out with me at the moment. She came to backpack and teach english and to "never go back" but then realized that the isolated lifestyle (from friends and family) would be harder then she thought so she is biding her time on the beach and catching a few zzzzzzzz's in my spare room before flying backto the states in a few weeks. i find it very strange how people have such a hard time out here but then again I have never had strong, binding ties to one place before. dont get me wrong, i love my family and they love me but it has never been a problem for me to go out on my own for extended periods of time. this is a skill set that is very helpful when you are in prison. Everyone wants to live the ideal life and make their home in paradise and then they sometimes realize paradise is not a physical location but more a state of mind. Man I am pretty fucking profound today.....i should write fortune cookies.

A friend of mine had a unique view on the japanese tsunami the other day. He pointed out the fact that the japanese culture is notorious for killing whales, dolphins and really any other thing that inhabits the oceans. I mean eating sea cucumbers..........really? anyway, his theory was it was sort of karma coming back on their asses. apparently one of the biggest shark finning ports was destroyed in the wave and I will have to admit that I am not at all unhappy about that. It really just seems like we are constantly fighting a losing battle when it comes to the fisherman and shark finning and shit of this nature. nobody really cares because they are just fish and fish arent really animals in their eyes but if the same sort of practices were used in the forest during hunting season people would be up in fucking arms. It really is a sad state of affairs but it seems that nothing that is said or done changes people minds into any sort of action.

so as you can probably tell, there is nothing too interesting going on over here at the moment, just wrapping up the season, looking forward to songkran (water festival) and savouring time with the girlfriend before i'm on a plane back to the states. not sure if this is enough to warrant a new entry to the old blog but its been awhile since i wrote so i figured i would come say hi.